TEACHER LANGUAGE
A) Vocabulary items
Hostile
Ok everyone look at the picture on the board. What do you see here? (Students answer- a man /person)
And what do you think this person is feeling? Is he happy? (Students answer – No, angry, he looks like he
wants to fight or attack someone.)Ok good, what else would you say about him? Tim, does he look like a
kind person? (Tim answers – no he looks unfriendly, harsh, nasty) Yes he looks unfriendly, ok and why do
you think that? (Because he looks like he is shouting and being aggressive.) Ok great, he does look like he is
aggressive. And does anyone know another word, similar to aggressive we could use to describe this
person? (Point out students to give examples – violent, confrontational, antagonistic.) That’s right, exactly,
very good. So we could describe this person as being…? Word beginning with ‘H’ anyone? (Students
response – Harsh’) Not quite… What was that word you said Daniel? (Student response- Hostile.) Very good,
everyone repeat HOSTILE (Students repeat out loud ‘HOSTILE’). Ok so, hostile means showing or feeling
dislike toward someone or something or being aggressive. It is an adjective, which can be related to people
or things. For example we can say: (Puts examples on the board in presentation)
I left my previous job, because of the hostile work environment.
The hostile dog chased me down the street.
Joann looked at Tim with a hostile gaze, it made him feel unpleasant.
Ok, Karolina so would you say I enjoyed the work environment in my previous job? (No) Was it pleasant or
did it make me feel bad? (It made you feel bad) That’s right, it was a hostile environment.
Tim, was the dog calm? (No, it was aggressive) That’s right and did it chase me to play? (No, to attack you)
Exactly, so was the dog friendly? (No, he was hostile). Very good. Let’s move on.
Down the pit
So let’s have a look at the phrase ‘to go down the pit’. It’s not a phrase we hear very often now a days,
however back in the day it was used quite frequently to describe a certain profession. Let’s break this down
a bit. Does anyone know what the noun ‘pit’ could be? (Students hopefully give some answers e.g. sandpit,
if not I will begin to explain) A pit is a hole in the ground. For example a dog could dig a pit in the ground or
you can have a sandpit for your child to play in. So going down the pit could be literally described as going
underground right? Ashley, can you think of a job that requires someone to go underground? (Pipe laying,
sewers) Mhm these are good examples, but not quite. More strictly a ‘pit’ is a synonym of the word ‘mine’,
like a ‘coal mine or a gold mine’ which we discussed earlier. Tim, what do you call someone who works in a
coal mine for example? (Student answer, miner). Excellent Tim, that’s right a miner. So ‘to go down the pit’
is used to describe someone working as a miner. Have a look at the following examples: (Point to
presentation on the board)
Going down the pit was a tradition in his family.
He went down the pit after he left school.
Does any of you know anyone who ‘went down the pit’? (Students answer yes or no) Do you think it’s an
easy job? (NO) Why do you think that? (You spend the day in the dark, underground, it’s dangerous, and
your family can worry’.
Josh, tell us would you ever ‘go down the pit’? (Josh answers yes or no).
An outsider
Have any of you ever felt like you don’t belong to a group? (Students answer yes hopefully) I think we all
have…I know there has been many times where I felt like ‘an outsider’, like I don’t belong somewhere just
because I’m a little different. When I first moved to the UK I didn’t speak any English so I had a difficult time
A) Vocabulary items
Hostile
Ok everyone look at the picture on the board. What do you see here? (Students answer- a man /person)
And what do you think this person is feeling? Is he happy? (Students answer – No, angry, he looks like he
wants to fight or attack someone.)Ok good, what else would you say about him? Tim, does he look like a
kind person? (Tim answers – no he looks unfriendly, harsh, nasty) Yes he looks unfriendly, ok and why do
you think that? (Because he looks like he is shouting and being aggressive.) Ok great, he does look like he is
aggressive. And does anyone know another word, similar to aggressive we could use to describe this
person? (Point out students to give examples – violent, confrontational, antagonistic.) That’s right, exactly,
very good. So we could describe this person as being…? Word beginning with ‘H’ anyone? (Students
response – Harsh’) Not quite… What was that word you said Daniel? (Student response- Hostile.) Very good,
everyone repeat HOSTILE (Students repeat out loud ‘HOSTILE’). Ok so, hostile means showing or feeling
dislike toward someone or something or being aggressive. It is an adjective, which can be related to people
or things. For example we can say: (Puts examples on the board in presentation)
I left my previous job, because of the hostile work environment.
The hostile dog chased me down the street.
Joann looked at Tim with a hostile gaze, it made him feel unpleasant.
Ok, Karolina so would you say I enjoyed the work environment in my previous job? (No) Was it pleasant or
did it make me feel bad? (It made you feel bad) That’s right, it was a hostile environment.
Tim, was the dog calm? (No, it was aggressive) That’s right and did it chase me to play? (No, to attack you)
Exactly, so was the dog friendly? (No, he was hostile). Very good. Let’s move on.
Down the pit
So let’s have a look at the phrase ‘to go down the pit’. It’s not a phrase we hear very often now a days,
however back in the day it was used quite frequently to describe a certain profession. Let’s break this down
a bit. Does anyone know what the noun ‘pit’ could be? (Students hopefully give some answers e.g. sandpit,
if not I will begin to explain) A pit is a hole in the ground. For example a dog could dig a pit in the ground or
you can have a sandpit for your child to play in. So going down the pit could be literally described as going
underground right? Ashley, can you think of a job that requires someone to go underground? (Pipe laying,
sewers) Mhm these are good examples, but not quite. More strictly a ‘pit’ is a synonym of the word ‘mine’,
like a ‘coal mine or a gold mine’ which we discussed earlier. Tim, what do you call someone who works in a
coal mine for example? (Student answer, miner). Excellent Tim, that’s right a miner. So ‘to go down the pit’
is used to describe someone working as a miner. Have a look at the following examples: (Point to
presentation on the board)
Going down the pit was a tradition in his family.
He went down the pit after he left school.
Does any of you know anyone who ‘went down the pit’? (Students answer yes or no) Do you think it’s an
easy job? (NO) Why do you think that? (You spend the day in the dark, underground, it’s dangerous, and
your family can worry’.
Josh, tell us would you ever ‘go down the pit’? (Josh answers yes or no).
An outsider
Have any of you ever felt like you don’t belong to a group? (Students answer yes hopefully) I think we all
have…I know there has been many times where I felt like ‘an outsider’, like I don’t belong somewhere just
because I’m a little different. When I first moved to the UK I didn’t speak any English so I had a difficult time
